All's Fair in Love & War
by SuckerForVampires
Summary: Edward Cullen had been hopelessly in love with his best friend Isabella Swan, for as long as he could remember. There was just one small problem standing in his way.. Bella's boyfriend. Just how far will he go to get the girl of his dreams? AH OOC Rated M
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** The characters in this story are AH and OOC. The couples are canon, although you may not think so at first. And it is rated M for lemons later on.

If you have any reservations about; language, classism, drugs, sex or promiscuity…

DO NOT READ ON.

Your reviews are greatly appreciated!

**Disclaimer:** All Twilight characters, references and settings belong to the wonderful Ms SMyer. No copyright infringement is intended.

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**Preface**

Edward Cullen and Isabella Swan had known each other since they were seven years old.

It was in the second grade that Edward had stopped James from biting Bella.

James was their class hamster - and Edward and Bella had been best friends, ever since.

After ten long years of friendship, there was just one small problem with their situation...

_Edward was secretly in love with her._

Which would be wonderful, if it were not for one huge problem, standing in his way...

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This is one story where the rules of fair play do not apply - in a game where the stakes are high, and the morals low.

But when it comes to love, well, you all know how the old saying goes...

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**All's Fair in Love and War **

**Chapter One**

**EPOV**

The whole room was one big clusterfuck of haze to me. The mixture of different smokes had clouded my vision, making it hard for me to see straight, and the throbbing music of our sound system was going straight to my head. I frantically rubbed my temple trying to clear my mind, and quickly locked my eyes on the reason I'd even opened them to begin with.

"Were you planning on passing that around?"

My brother Jasper turned to me, eyes completely glazed over but thankfully coherent. He plucked the small joint from the lips of the girl straddling him and took a large pull before flicking it to me. It landed on my shirt and I hastily tried to scoop it up before it left its mark, nearly falling out of my chair in the process. The two girls around me started to giggle.

Jessica Stanley, the bleach blonde tramp that I liked to sometimes share backseat romps with and her virtually unknown friend, were not exactly my ideal companions for a Saturday night… but at least they were available on short notice.

"It's Armani, bitches," I explained angrily, straightening up. I could feel my mood getting progressively worse as the night dragged on. They must have caught it too.

Stanley was over me in an instant, making sure I hadn't missed a spot of ash, and her friend, Lauren something, looked like she was about to offer up her own shirt. Jasper however ignored me, and the girl on his lap just sneered. Rolling my eyes I brought the joint up to my lips and groaned; it was stained with something sticky.

My gaze immediately shot back to the girl on Jasper's lap now shamelessly grinding against him, her glossy lips standing out like a red flag. A good minute and a half passed until she eventually looked up from molesting my brother. Her face lit up upon catching me stare, a sly smile twitching on her lip. She locked her eyes with mine and gave me a slow wink, flirting shamelessly while she grinded against my brother.

From where I was sitting, the whole thing looked like some freaky sideshow act and I was briefly reminded of Mike Newton, the homeless guy on Fifth Street who would sometimes follow us around and throw pennies at us when we refused to buy him breakfast. To which Jasper would scoop them all up and stuff them in his pants, daring Mike to come and try to take them back. We figured he had to run out eventually...

Or realise that he probably had enough fucking pennies to buy his own breakfast. I chuckled at the memory.

"The hells your problem?" the slut attached to my brother hissed, dejectedly.

I grinned and was about to mention my mental comparison to her, but caught Jasper shooting me his don't-you-fucking-dare-Edward look, and stopped myself in time.

"Either wipe that shit off your lips or stay away from the stash." I rolled my eyes, before I turned my head away from them both. It was taking all of my strength to stay even _relatively_ civil towards this chick.

I took another long pull on the ruined joint and closed my eyes, trying to relax. Unnecessary stress wasn't good for me. It was practically my therapist's mantra. Although I'm sure she'd revoke it if I ever let slip my relaxation methods. _Fuck._ I felt my anger start to rise at the mere though of it…

_Therapy._

I both hated and loved it. _Ah _t_he fucking irony._ Hated it because it was therapy. Loved it because well, I got to sit on a comfy ass couch and dump all my problems on some poor chick. It seemed a fair enough trade. She was getting a nice big chunk of my parent's paycheck for it and I was getting my own private escape. And it was the perfect escape- for a while. Until she informed me I was under some bullshit agreement that allowed her to continue our sessions for as long as she deemed necessary.

Thus my afternoons were spent spilling my life to some bitch, formulating lie after lie to convince her I didn't belong there, in the hopes she would finally declare me cured. From _what_ exactly, I had no idea. Unless causing panties to drop wherever I went was a disease. But thanks to the combination of good genes I had inherited from my parents, I was pretty sure there was no immediate cure for that in my future.

I was even pleasant toward her in the beginning, imagining the strings my parents must have pulled to get her to accept such an unorthodox agreement. But after two sessions with the just-graduated-from-med-school doctor, I could tell she was all about my father's money, and would have gladly tied me down to that couch for the rest of my life if she'd thought no one would come looking for me. Many times I'd contemplated just bribing her with fistfuls of cash to sign the stupid release forms. However, Carlisle's threats of taking away my Volvo always brought those ideas to a crashing halt.

"Eddie…" A whiney nasal sounded from somewhere in my lap breaking me from my thoughts. I looked down to see that Stanley had positioned herself between my knees and was staring up at me intently, her hand lingering above my zipper.

_What the fuck?_

I took a quick glance around the room to be sure I hadn't missed something important- like everyone leaving the room. But no, they were still all there, looking just as flabbergasted and mystified as I felt.

"Jess, what the hell are you doing?"

"Lauren and I have to go home now…" she said anxiously.

"And you - what? – forgot what a door's supposed to look like?" I glanced downwards.

"No silly," she laughed. "I just didn't want to leave without a proper goodbye."

_Jesus Christ. _

"Jess, that's okay. I'll um see you at school and we can uh talk about it then..." I trailed off, completely lost for words. It wasn't like I could do or say anything that could help her out of this one.

"Alright, Eddie. We'll talk at school." She winked and stood up. The next second we heard the door slam shut and both she and Lauren were gone. Jasper almost toppled over in amusement as he turned to me, his face completely stunned.

"I don't say it enough, Edward, but I'm so glad we don't have a sister."

I shuddered in agreement and took a large, but very necessary pull, on the joint still in my hand.

Any other night I might have taken Stanley up on her offer. Sex was my trademark after all; it's what I was best known for at Forks Academy, although I'm ashamed to admit that I found it only slightly more satisfying than driving the Volvo. Don't get me wrong, I was as horny as the next eighteen year old guy, but sex to me was just sex and I didn't place it on some weird coveted pedestal like most guys did. It was simply a means to an end- an end that I could accomplish with my hand, if I needed to.

Or it could just be that sex came too easy to me. Obviously.

Girls in this town were suckers for green eyes and a trust fund, and if they weren't already throwing themselves at me, you could bet I'd be milking those for all their worth. It didn't help that I could ask for just about anything in bed, and they'd go along with it... a_nything to fuck Edward Cullen. _

More than likely though, my problem had something to do with my obsession for one girl in particular. But that was a whole other fucked up story...

I quietly pulled a new cigarette from my pocket and lit it. It was depressing to think that those things were pretty much my life: expensive therapy, meaningless sex, and fast cars. Oh and getting stoned silly of course, whenever Esme and Carlisle went away- pretending they were single. Like the icing on the cake, my life just wouldn't be complete without a pair of sexually repressed parents. It was no surprise really that my brother Jasper was always just as inclined to get high as I was.

But _he_ wasn't the one being sent to fucking therapy for it.

I sighed and released the breath of smoke I'd been holding for a while, when Jasper's girl, being the great sort of person she was, took it upon herself to destroy my high. Her high pitched laughter suddenly filled the room and brought me crashing down to reality - or hell. I hadn't yet decided.

"Is jacking off not that great after all?"

She'd obviously completely misinterpreted my sigh.

"I'd gladly spend the night with my hand before I ever let _any_ part of _you _near my dick," I quipped, not even trying this time to keep the venom out of my voice.

She simply scoffed, _hard,_ like she was trying to cough up some balls that had gotten stuck in her throat a while back, and I was debating the pros and cons of giving her the Heimlich manoeuvre when she turned her attention back to Jasper, who was either purposely ignoring us or was just too high at that point to care.

This being all chivalrous and shit while Jasper was stoned was quickly getting old. I was used to him bringing home less than perfect girls but this one really shook me to the core. Never before had I used the words 'fuck' and 'dick' in a conversation with a girl I'd just met, but holy _dick fuck_ did this girl warrant it.

I took the opportunity while her back was turned to check her out, this girl my brother had been going on about for weeks. I still couldn't figure out what he saw in her, although I knew within the first two minutes of meeting her why I wouldn't like her. She was lower class. And not like Stanley or her friend, who were more like avid social climbers than anything else, this chick was really fucking poor.

I shuddered to think of what our parents, famous surgeon Carlisle Cullen or movie star Esme Cullen would say if they ever met this girl. With her cheap dyke haircut and designer rip off labels, the girl looked like she had all of about two cents to her name. That's not to say she would ever meet our parents. My brother was a carefree spirit and all, but even stoned he wasn't suicidal.

That's exactly what introducing her to our parents would mean--death and then disownership.

To my dismay, Jasper chose that moment to escape to the alcohol cabinet, leaving me all alone with her. The girl looked back and forth between mine and Jasper's fleeting form as if contemplating something in her head, before settling her gaze on me and smirking.

"Let's start over. I'm Alice," she challenged, offering me her hand.

I wouldn't even have time to grab my hand sanitizer.

"Edward." I nodded, refusing to let her win whatever game this was. My body however visibly recoiled at her touch, and I withdrew my hand after giving her the customary two seconds that common decency called for. But my repulsion just seemed to ignite her even more. She folded her arms and laughed.

"Well, Edward, I can see how visibly hard that was for you but I should let you know something. I don't take shit from anyone, especially arrogant little rich boys."

I grinned and relaxed back into the couch. Where did Jasper even find these girls? I could see why he might think she was pretty, with her smooth pale skin, tough blue eyes and attitude to match, but she was so fucking beneath us it was ridiculous.

"That really won't be an issue. I have difficulties understanding the language of _trailer trash_, much less trying to fucking speak it."

"Please," she rolled her eyes, unfazed. "I eat egotistical pricks like you for breakfast."

"I'd love to say the same, but unlike my brother, I won't touch girls like you."

She laughed. "Oh Edward…" she lowered her eyes, continuing with my sexual innuendo and grabbing my collar as she leaned in unexpectedly. Her grip was so surprisingly firm for someone that petite that I felt myself start to pull back. "…Even in your wildest fantasies, you couldn't get a girl like me."

I lauged and pushed her hand away. "Alice, I think you have me mistaken for some brain-dead-idiot that would actually want a girl like you."

Fortunately for both of us, the idiot in question chose that moment to reappear, with a bottle of vodka in one hand, three shot glasses in the other and a shit eating grin on his face. His eyes travelled over the scene; Alice out of her chair with her body pressed against mine, and me visibly recoiling from her close proximity. But our obvious hostility did nothing to faze him. If anything, his grin grew wider.

"So kids, what'd I miss?" Jasper chuckled.

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**APOV**

I ran my fingers along the rim of the smooth shot glass and allowed my eyes to travel between the two attractive Cullen boys in front of me.

I'd definitely made the right choice.

Even after half a dozen shots of vodka, I could tell Edward still hadn't let his guard down around me. He may have been a condescending jackass but he was clearly a lot more reserved than his brother. I noticed too his eyes were travelling back and forth a lot between us and the restraint behind them was discernible. I had to give him credit for being able to stay quiet for so long.

"See something you like?" I teased, laying it on thick.

If he wanted to believe I was a whore that was fine, I'd take it. But I had secretly hoped I wouldn't have to go down this route. I was still kicking myself for flirting with him earlier.

"Not even if you were giving it up for free." He pulled out his phone and began walking away.

"Whatever," I smiled sweetly, glad to finally be rid of him and turned my attention to the real reason I was there. "Jasper, where's your bathroom?"

His face immediately lit up. "This way, I'll show you." He managed to capture my hand without stumbling, an impressive feat considering his alcohol induced state, but not nearly as impressive as the dazzling smile that adorned his gorgeous face.

_God, he was cute._

I took a moment to breathe him all in. His unruly blonde hair, toned physique and scorching blue eyes… the ultimate envy of every aspiring surfer boy. I could just imagine what it would be like to kiss him… and run my fingers through his hair… while he gripped my hips… and whispered my name.

_His strong muscled arms on either side of me, trapping me beneath him._

I let my mind indulge itself in its little fantasy for a while longer, until pretty soon I could actually feel his weight on top of me.

_His smooth tongue warming my skin as he moved his mouth from my lips to my neck._

God, just thinking about him was getting me hot. I sighed.

_What a waste. _

I let him lead me down the long hall of the small mansion and was slightly surprised when he stopped me as we reached the kitchen. I shot him a quizzical grin. He simply smiled down at me and grabbed me by the hips, thrusting me up onto the edge of the kitchen counter and quickly devouring my lips with his. I smiled into our kiss.

_This guy was just too easy._

I felt a small moan escape me as he slid his warm tongue into my mouth, a mixture of musk and vodka encapsulating my senses and I took the opportunity to finally run my fingers through his gorgeous hair. It was softer than I expected. Most of the guys I'd been with had needed gel to achieve his look but his was naturally tousled it seemed.

It only turned me on more.

I could practically feel the heat radiating between our bodies as he slid his leg between my thighs and pressed his whole body against me. From my position, I could have easily wrapped my legs around his torso, but the feeling of his hard thigh against me was so much better. I held it there in place, enjoying the friction his jeans were creating. Just his scent alone was driving me wild…

_Damn it._

I broke away quickly before I let him have me then and there, and slid my body smoothly down the countertop into his waiting arms. His smile grew impossibly wider as he tucked me into his arms and kissed the top of my head. It was such a sweet gesture that I couldn't help but smile against his chest, but it was gone by the time I turned away from him and continued my search for the bathroom.

"Wait," Jasper said softly, grabbing my hand and forcing me back around. I smiled.

_So easy._

"Yes?" I purred, reaching for the hem of his shirt.

He titled his head to the side and studied me for a long moment before suddenly grinning. "I just wanted to say… your act in there with my little brother was cute. Really, you have no idea how much fun it is watching someone put Edward in his place." He paused in his little speech to still my travelling hands. I hesitated a bit before looking up to meet his eyes; and almost had to look straight back down again.

Jasper's eyes were filled to the brim with some emotion I couldn't quite place, but the sight alone could have literally taken my breath away… if I'd allowed it. Then he slowly bent his head to mine and continued his speech, in a voice an octave lower than before. "But I know the real Alice…" he said quietly, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "And I like her so much better."

A conflicting combination of sadness and lust washed over me at his words. I tried hard to keep the disbelief from my eyes and gave him the best tight lipped smile I could manage before turning away.

_Oh, Jasper. If only you knew what you were getting yourself into._

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**BPOV**

I heard the phone ring somewhere in my subconscious.

"I'm sleeping," I mumbled to the darkness.

The ringing didn't stop. I rolled over and reached blindly for the receiver.

"Hello?"

"Bella, it's me."

"Edward?"

I quickly glanced down at my bedside clock. "It's three o'clock in the fucking morning!"

"So?"

"You better be on the verge of death."

"Well… not exactly."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong."

"You said you weren't exactly on the verge of death, meaning you're close?"

"I lied."

I rolled my eyes to the darkness. "Shocking. Why are you calling me?"

"First of all… ouch. Second, I'm calling because I love the sound of your voice."

"Time and time again you prove that chivalry is, in fact, not dead."

"Your sarcasm is sexy."

"Only to the mentally impaired."

"Playing on my disability isn't fair."

"You calling me at three a.m. isn't exactly the epitome of reasonable."

"That just wasn't funny."

"Forgive me, Edward," I yawned. "My comebacks are better at four."

"But that's a whole hour away."

"Your point?"

"I need you now."

I felt my heart stop beating in my chest. I quickly checked for a pulse. When I didn't immediately reply, he continued.

"Can I come over, Bella? Please? I promise I'll be quiet. You can go right back to sleep once I get there."

"Edward, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong."

There was no hesitation in his voice but I could tell he was lying. Perhaps I knew him too well.

"Fine. But hurry your ass up, I'm tired."

"Be there in a tick."

"You're such a dork."

"You think it's hot."

"Uh huh. I'll open my window."

"Thank you."

I heard the dial tone and realized he'd failed to say goodbye... again.

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**A/N:** I love to hear your reviews!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **I love to see so many people reading this story but not a single review :(

Hopefully this chapter will turn it around.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own these characters.

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**Chapter Two**

**APOV**

I stared at my reflection in the mirror.

It stared painfully back.

I blinked.

It blinked.

I waved.

It waved.

I smiled.

It smirked.

I frowned and turned away before I completely lost it.

I was pretty sure that distinguishing one's inner and outer self as separate units was, by general consensus, considered crazy. Not bouncing off the walls or Texas-chainsaw-massacre crazy, but it was definitely the sort of thing they could throw you in a mental asylum for.

And I had no desire to revisit that chapter of my life.

I reached around to turn the faucet on and let the water run cold before splashing it on my face.

_Get a grip, Alice. _

I looked back up and tried smiling at myself once more in the mirror. This time myself smiled back. With a triumphant grin I picked up my purse and sashayed out the door.

Jasper was waiting for me in the living room and grinned when he saw me, a cigarette hanging loosely from his mouth. I noticed that Edward had still not returned from his phone call.

"Where's the little prodigy?" I sneered, taking the cigarette from him and sinking down into one of the sleek black couches, made of butter soft leather... the type of couch that probably costed more than my whole house. Jasper plucked a new smoke from the packet on the table beside him, and shrugged.

"Probably went to see Bella."

"Bella?"

The name sounded distantly familiar.

"Yeah. Isabella Swan." He replied, lighting the end of my cigarette for me before relaxing back onto his own couch.

_Ah, the Swan girl._

I'd done my research on her too. She was a little different from the rest of the filthy rich socialites at Forks Academy, in that her money was through inheritance from her late grandparents, and she wouldn't see a dime of it until she was twenty-one. Whether or not this made her less conceited than the rest of them, I didn't know.

"Her father's a cop though, isn't he?" I asked, taking a pull on my cigarette.

"Yeah. And?"

"Just wondering."

"Why the sudden interest in Bella?" Jasper raised an eyebrow.

"I just didn't peg her as Edward's type. That's all," I shrugged.

Jasper shook his head and carelessly flicked the butt of his own smoke away before coming over to me. I couldn't even move my eyes to see where it hand landed, before Jasper was placing his hands on either side of my couch and lowering his face to mine.

"Can we not talk about Bella and my brother? Not when I've finally got you all to myself…" he flipped my hand up, entwining our fingers together and slowly began kissing his way down my neck. I felt myself moan and immediately brought my free hand up to the back of his head, entwining my fingers through his soft hair. "And I plan on enjoying every minute of it…" Jasper whispered against my skin.

I sighed and relented, letting him kiss his way down to my collarbone.

_I can definitely do that. _

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**EPOV**

Okay so I may have lied before when I said that my car was my escape and sex was my vice. If I was being truly honest with myself, the room I was in now was my true escape… and my vice. Hell, any room she was in.

_Oh fuck it, who am I kidding?_

_She_ was my vice… and my escape. It didn't matter where we were. And my problem with sex was never about the small town, simple minded girls of Forks, although they certainly didn't help my cause. My problem was, and always had been, her. She was the one girl on the entire planet I couldn't have. And I wanted her more than anything.

I quietly slid the window shut behind me and made my way toward her bed. We both knew she was awake but she didn't say a word as I slid myself under the covers beside her. I felt her shift slightly to make room for me but the air remained otherwise completely still, our shallow breathing the only sound to be heard. I listened to it contentedly for a few minutes before breaking it.

"Do you always let strangers crawl into bed with you?"

She rolled over to face me and I was almost stunned back into silence. She'd always had that effect on me but she somehow managed to outdo herself every time I saw her and I was always left wondering how she did it, having no possible room for improvement in the first place. Even now, with no makeup on and in her oldest sweats, I could truthfully say it was the _most beautiful_ I'd ever seen her look.

Bella cracked a smile and tucked her arm under her head. "It's just you," her soft voice whispered.

I felt myself mimicking her movement.

"But how did you know that? For all you knew I was a rapist serial killer."

Her eyebrows rose. "Aren't you?"

"I'm too squeamish to kill people. And you can't rape the willing."

"You're so sure everyone wants you."

"You don't?"

I tried to keep my tone light but the question was there, lingering in the air between us like a deadly fragrance, with the ability to either kill or consume you.

She was completely silent in the darkness. I took the time to quickly recover.

"I mean who could resist me, Bella, honestly?"

"Do you want that list alphabetically?" She grinned, reverting back to her usual self.

I breathed a sigh of relief and rested my head on her pillow, my arms tightening around her waist automatically and pulling her closer to me. I felt her body relax and her nose nuzzle my chest as she sank into my embrace. We laid like that for a few minutes, completely silent in the darkness, my head just swimming in the smell of her.

"So… what happened?" Bella ventured after a while. I could tell her curiosity had been eating away at her since my arrival. I decided to drag it out.

"What do you mean?"

"Well it's not every day you come creeping through my window." She paused to smile thoughtfully. "At least not this early in the morning."

"Would you like that to change?"

She smiled but otherwise ignored my insinuation. "Is she Springer worthy?"

"I seriously think that's where he may have found her."

"Well at least we know where his college tuition money is going. It's not easy to get onto one of those closed sets you know."

"Springer? Bella, please tell me you're kidding. You could flash your tits once at the cameraman and you'd have a backstage pass for life."

"Somehow I can't see Jasper doing that. Can you?" She quirked an eyebrow. I paused as if seriously taking the time to think it over.

"You know Jasper. He's always been a fucking oddball."

Bella just laughed and sat up, swinging her legs around either side of me so she could smack me with her pillow. My arms shot up instinctively to protect my face and I really should not have been held responsible for what happened next.

I grabbed the pillow before it could make contact with my head and pulled down sharply so that both the pillow and Bella collided with my chest. Then, before she could so much as move whipped the pillow out from between us causing her to land on top of me with a small _thud._ Her tiny weight on top of me was strangely fucking arousing and I quickly shifted my leg to hide my growing arousal. It was a huge turn on how perfectly she fit against my body.

I suddenly grinned. Our noses were tip to tip and I could see practically every line on her perfect face. I tried hard not to laugh at the visible crease between her brows, telling me she was frustrated with our position. I decided to use her stunned silence to my advantage and quickly began brushing my nose back and forth with hers.

_I knew instantly I'd gone too far._

She mumbled a string of profanities and rolled off of me with a hard push to my chest and picked up the discarded pillow from the floor. Without a word, she placed it between us, silently drawing a line down the bed. I sighed, sensing where her reluctance was coming from, and rolled back onto my side. "So, how's the perfect boyfriend?"

Her eyes went wide, probably as surprised as I was to hear the question come out of my mouth. "Emmett's fine."

And I knew that was as much as I was going to get. But I'd be fucked if that was going to stop me tonight.

"Well, when did you see him last?" I pressed.

"Actually he left just before you got here," she replied, her temper rising now. "You should have passed him on your way through my _fucking_ window."

"What the fuck, Bella? I'm just making conversation."

"Since when do we ever talk about Emmett?"

I was completely silent. I didn't have an answer.

She took it as an invitation.

"When you say its okay, Edward? Is that it? All the fucking times I've tried talking about him, needed your help…"

"What do you want me to say, Bella?" I shouted, my fists visibly shaking as I tried to contain my anger. Bella recoiled slightly from my visible fury, but otherwise didn't say anything so I continued. "You want me to tell you that you're an idiot for staying with him? That you deserve so much better. I've done all that, and it still doesn't make a fucking difference to you!"

"That's not fair, and you know it," she spat.

We sat in silence, fuming at each other, each equally livid and unwilling to back down. The hard glint in her eye did not falter as she stared murderously back at me, her small hands in tightly clenched fists. Her cheeks were flushed with that beautiful pink tinge I knew so well and my corrupt mind began imagining ways I could make it return the next time we were alone together. I felt my hard-on start to stir in my pants.

_Shit._

Angry Bella was such a turn on. I'd never wanted to fuck her so badly before.

The silence between us dragged on. You could have visibly cut the tension in the air. But then it was broken suddenly, when Bella flopped back onto the bed and started laughing. And not just any type of laugh - a loud, uninhibited, spirit fucking lifting laugh that if she wasn't careful, would wake up Charlie.

I watched, completely bewildered as she rolled around on the duvet, just clutching her sides in laughter. It was so fucking strange and so totally Bella that I couldn't help but laugh too. Her laugh was that _fucking infectious_.

I sank back onto the bed with her, pulling her into my arms and kissed the top of her head.

"And _that's_ why we never talk about Emmett, Edward." Bella wheezed through gasps of laughter, attaching herself to my chest once again.

I sighed bemusedly into her hair, too stunned fucking silent to do much else.

_This girl would be the death of me._

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**A/N:** I'd be lying if I said the reviews didn't make me type faster.. hint hint ;)


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Sorry this chapter took so long. It's crucial to the story and it took me about three attempts to get it right. Alas, it's also my favourite. I think you'll enjoy it. And thank you for the reviews last chapter. They really inspired this one.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own these characters.

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**Chapter Three**

**EPOV**

When I woke up the next morning, it was to the smell of strawberries and peaches, and sunlight streaming through the window. All the things that would undoubtedly lead to my undoing.

"Fuck…" I groaned quietly, shifting my body ever so slightly.

It wasn't that it was unusual for me to have spent the night at Bella's. Being best friends as long as we had, sleepovers sort of came with the package, but the last thing I needed was for Bella to wake up because my hard-on was poking into her stomach. I carefully pried her arms from my chest and started to lift my body off the bed, but stopped when I felt her small hand reach out and grasp my shirt. I glanced down at her nervously.

"Don't go…" she whispered, somewhere between sleep and consciousness.

I let out a sigh and sank back down. Bella knew me well enough to know that I would do just about anything she asked. Hell, she could have told me to spit fire and I would have found a way to do it. It was pretty fucking pathetic.

Bella caught my attention by suddenly stretching her arms. She didn't need to open her eyes to know that I was still there with her. "So, what was it this time?" Bella yawned, trying to sound casual. I smiled despite myself. We both knew what she was referring to and this part of the night I could remember very clearly.

"You said my name."

She turned over on her stomach and blinked at me, once, twice, then let out a sigh. "You have a funny way of always working yourself into my dreams." When she caught me grinning she blushed and quickly pinched my side. "Ah, not like that pervert. You usually just turn out to be the guy behind my shower screen with a knife."

I smiled even wider and pulled her into to my chest. "You didn't say my name like that, Bella. It was more of a... Edward… I need you now... take me, Edwarrrdd…" I moaned and earned myself another, decisively harder, pinch.

Bella shook her head. "Your pretends are getting less and less believable."

"When are you just going to admit that you do need me, Bella?"

She paused for a second before looking up at me carefully. "I'll always need you, Edward... forever," she warned, all previous signs of joking aside. "You're my best friend."

I rolled my eyes and kissed her head. Because even though I hated her for only saying best friend, I still loved her all the same.

"Come on, let's get your cute little ass out of bed and go hunt down some breakfast."

Her eyebrows rose. "Ah, Edward. Aren't you forgetting something?"

I discreetly glanced down to make sure I still had everything under control before shaking my head. Bella sighed.

"Well I'm not a parent, so don't take me on my word for this, but I'm fairly certain Charlie won't be all that thrilled to see us skip down the stairs together."

I laughed and reluctantly glanced over at her window. I'd become so good at scaling the side of her house over the years that I was practically one tight leotard away from becoming fucking Spiderman. I turned back to Bella and playfully ruffled her hair.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll see you downstairs in a bit."

* * *

**BPOV**

Edward just decided to stick around for the rest of the day. It wasn't out of the ordinary for him to do so but I had a feeling there was something more to it today. Not that I was complaining of course.

"Do you have any peanut butter?" He asked over his shoulder, while scouring the fridge.

"Mmm, I think it's somewhere in the back." I took the opportunity while his back was turned to get a better look at his butt. "Dig deeper, I know it's in there."

Edward backed out of the fridge with a triumphant smile and closed the door shut with his hip. "Do you know how long it's been since I've had this stuff? Esme won't even let us keep it in the house, too many calories or some shit."

"So I take it she's still trying to lose five pounds of nonexistent fat?"

"She's got a movie premiere coming up." He shrugged nonchalantly, now digging through the drawer for a spoon. "Doesn't really explain the last two years of bogarting it, but you know Esme."

I sighed. I did know Esme. Both of Edward's parents in fact. They were the type of people that cared more about keeping up appearances and what their neighbours thought of them than the wellbeing of their own children. Both Edward and Jasper. They had never once stopped to consider the consequences their choice of lifestyle had on them… the sort of pressure being thrown into the spotlight creates. When Edward had suffered a rather public and humiliating breakdown last year, their response had been to simply put him in therapy. It hardly seemed fair.

"So what are we going to do tonight? Being our last night of freedom and all?" Edward said, breaking me from my thoughts, a spoon dangling cutely from his mouth.

"Oh, um…" I didn't really want to tell him that I had plans with Emmett for our one year anniversary. Not considering how well our conversation last night had gone where Emmett was concerned.

"Actually, Edward…"

"Oh fuck it's the fourteenth today isn't it? Sorry I forgot." Edward's face visibly fell in front of me and he hastily tried to hide it. But I literally felt my heart start to ache in my chest.

"No that's okay," I rushed. "Why don't you come with us? We were just going to O'Malley's for a drink. And you're right, it is our last night of freedom before school starts back again?"

"Bella, you don't have to do that for me. Go enjoy your night with Emmett."

I shook my head furiously and tried to hold his gaze. "Edward, I want you to come. Please..." I glanced up at him with huge eyes while sucking my bottom lip into my mouth. "For me?"

He sighed and looked at me carefully while he ran his hand through his hair. I knew that he had a hard time saying no to me when I begged.

"Fine," he relented with a sigh. "Just let me make a quick call first."

The happy school girl in me jumped a little inside and I quickly nodded. Edward just laughed at me and shook his head before walking out of the room. I waited the appropriate ten seconds before following him into the living room, and hiding behind the dividing wall so I could listen.

"Hey man." Edward said into his phone. "Nah, I slept at Bella's."

Pause.

"Fuck off. Speaking of which, is your little whore still with you?"

Another lengthy pause.

"Jesus, Jasper. You've only known her for two weeks."

Jasper said something on the other end and Edward made a face.

"Ewe, fuck man I don't want to hear that shit. And just be careful okay? I don't trust her."

Another pause before he sighed.

"You don't know her."

He started to pace back and forth, looking frustrated.

"Whatever, listen. Bella wants to go to O'Malley's tonight. Are you game?"

He listened contentedly for a second before mumbling a sarcastic "great" and disconnecting. He pocketed his phone and sat down on the couch, then put his head in his hands with a defeated sigh. I waited a bit before I tentatively cleared my throat and knocked on the wall.

Edward looked up startled, but smiled when he saw me, and patted the spot beside him. I quickly crossed the room and sat on the couch. This didn't feel right. Something was horribly wrong with Edward and I didn't know what it was. Taking his hand in mine I began rubbing soothing circles on his knuckles with my thumb. He grinned after glancing down at our entwined hands and gave them a little squeeze. I felt the familiar electric current that I usually did whenever he touched me, and tried to hide the blush I knew would soon erupt on my cheeks. Edward spoke first.

"So that was Jasper... he said he's in for tonight."

There was a pain in his voice that made me die a little on the inside. I looked down somewhat nervously, aware of the blush that must have formed by now. It always did whenever Edward was this close to me.

"And what about you, Edward..." my voice came out in barely more than a whisper. "Are you _in_?"

I looked up slowly and was immediately taken aback by the unreadable expression on his face. For a moment he looked completely torn... and it was almost hard to watch. Then he sighed, defeated, and ran his fingers slowly through his hair.

"Yeah, Bella. I'm in…" he trailed off, staring into the distance. I could have sworn I heard him mumble …_way too fucking deep,_ but I could never be sure.

I just couldn't be sure of anything when Edward was around me.

* * *

**APOV**

The covers around my body felt warm and comforting, much like the arm wrapped securely around my waist did. I'd never felt so safe before in my life. I revelled in the feeling, not daring to open my eyes and chance ruining it. But the moment was broken by a shrill sound coming from somewhere near the headboard.

I heard Jasper yawn and felt the bed jiggle as he sat up. "Aren't you upstairs?" he asked groggily, answering his phone. I squeezed my eyes shut. I could feel his breath on my face as he leaned over to check if I was awake. I guess he bought my acting. The bed jiggled some more. I heard him sigh and immediately I knew who was on the other end.

"Listen to me, little brother. You need to give Stanley a call, and just fuck her senseless. Get your rocks off and then maybe you can stop pining over Bella. She's off the market."

Jasper slid out of the bed and listened some more. "She's not a fucking whore, Edward," he said dryly. "And yes she's asleep right now beside me."

_Ugh. Go screw yourself Edward Cullen._

Jasper laughed. "And it's been the best two weeks of sex I've ever had."

More silence.

"Chill, little bro. I know what I'm doing. And you're wrong about her."

I was practically bursting out of myself as I strained to listen.

"I know her better than you think."

_What?_

"Sure. That sounds good. Alice and I will meet you there." I heard him sigh and disconnect before rolling back onto the bed, and I suddenly felt an arm fall across my shoulders. I decided to stop feigning sleep. I threw my arms over my head and yawned.

"Who was that?"

Jasper seemed startled to see me awake but immediately smiled and gave me a kiss. "Just Edward."

"Oh, what did he say?"

"Nothing important. But he wants us to hit up O'Malley's with him and Bella tonight. You keen?"

Fear gripped me and spread swiftly through my body like ice. Why out of all the bars in the city did he have to say that one? We couldn't go to that bar. I brushed it off and grinned.

"I had a better idea in mind. You, me and breakfast in bed. Then lunch and maybe dinner."

"Oh?" He asked, looking adorably confused. I raised an eyebrow and glanced downwards.

"Oh…" He trailed off and his eyes shifted toward the pile of discarded clothes lying on the floor beside the bed, before he smiled. "How can I say no to that?" Then Jasper started to laugh.

"You sure do know how to wear a guy out though."

I grinned. Taking the sheets with me, I rolled myself back on top of him and grabbed his face in both of my hands.

"Baby, you have no idea."

* * *

**EPOV**

The bartender shook her head as I took out my wallet.

"Honey, this one is on the house." She smiled at me sympathetically and walked away.

I stared down at the beer bottle in front of me.

_A fucking pity drink._

I'd never had one of those before.

I groaned and took a swig, moving my eyes down to stare intently at the bar top, like it was the most interesting fucking bar top in the world or something. Jasper and Alice still weren't here yet and Bella hadn't looked up long enough from snogging Emmett to notice my arrival.

I glanced down the bar at them one last time and sighed in defeat.

That was it! I couldn't keep doing this to myself… I would just have to give up on Bella. I drew the line at pity drinks from fucking strangers. Besides, how much longer did I really think I could go on being the best friend? The stupid confidant. And if I was lucky… _maybe_ the back up guy one day. Not with Bella. I just couldn't do it…

And then, as if a light switch was suddenly flicked on in my head, I was struck with a horribly brilliant idea.

There are times you have to ponder and seriously fucking ask yourself, just how far you would knowingly go to secure your own happiness. Would you do it at the expense of someone you loved? Would it make you a complete monster if you did...

I pushed the thought from my mind and took another grateful sip from my beer as I let my eyes wander over to the opposite side of the bar; searching for the girl I needed at that moment. The only girl that could give my fucked up plan a remote shot in hell at working.

As if on cue, I spotted her perfect silhouette round the corner and take a drink order from a much older guy that, no doubt, ordered just to get a better look at her tits. She smiled sweetly at him as he handed her a fifty dollar bill and made her way over to where I was sitting, tossing her long blonde hair over her shoulder as she walked.

She didn't say a word to me as she took an empty glass from the spot right beside me and I continued to watch, amused, as she turned her back and picked up a dirty dish rag from the sink. I sat contentedly silent for a minute or two, just watching her work, and she continued to ignore me for a while. After a few more minutes of this, her shoulders finally slumped down in defeat.

"I know my ass is perfect but I don't remember giving you permission to ogle it."

I smirked. "And they say that plastic surgery is the result of low self-esteem?"

She snorted. "Last time I checked, a nose job was cheaper than therapy." She stopped scrubbing the glass in her hand and slowly turned around to face me. "What gives, Cullen?"

I opened my mouth to speak but quickly snapped it back shut.

_Was I really about to do this?_

Rosalie continued to look at me, her eyebrows raised high in amusement. When I still couldn't bring myself to speak she started to laugh.

"Cullen lost for words? I didn't think I'd live to see the day. Guess good things really do come to those who don't deserve them."

She laughed again and picked up my empty glass, before turning back around. I glanced back towards the end of the bar and was immediately met by the sight of Bella resting her head on Emmett's shoulder. He was saying something I couldn't quite make out but Bella was smiling and laughing about it.

All at once her soft bell like chime seemed to course through me, blocking out every other sound around me and I couldn't for the life of me, bring myself to look away. I watched as Emmett lovingly reached down to brush her cheek and just like that, I saw red.

_To hell with morals. Just fucking do it. _

"Rosalie, how would you like to do me a favor?"

She didn't turn around. "I would like it as much as I like a bikini wax."

"What if I made it worth your while?"

She slowly stopped scrubbing and turned her head an inch or so in my direction, acknowledging her peeked interest.

"Okay, Cullen. I'm listening."

I exhaled heavily. This was it. The point of no return.

"I need you to seduce that guy over there so that I can steal his girlfriend."

_I'm going to hell._

Rosalie looked over towards the end of the bar and her eyes immediately lit up as she took him all in. She licked her lips. "You mean that big hunk of stud over there?"

Inwardly I vomited a little but outwardly I managed to nod. I had to keep going before I could change my mind. "How much is it going to cost me?"

"Depends. How badly do you want her?"

I sighed. "Just name your price, Hale."

She hesitated for a split second. A very split second.

"Five thousand."

I breathed a sigh of relief and quickly reached down to get my check book. I'd been expecting a lot higher than that.

Rosalie smirked and shot out her hand to stop me. "You didn't let me finish. Five thousand and I'll get him to kiss me. Twenty thousand if you want me to sleep with him."

I felt my jaw drop to the floor.

"Twenty thousand dollars... are you fucking insane?"

"In cash," she continued, smiling sweetly.

"Forget it, spawn of Satan." I slapped a twenty dollar bill on the table and turned to leave. "I'll just fucking wait for them to break up."

Rosalie shrugged nonchalantly. "Your choice, Cullen." She looked back towards the end of the bar and smiled ruefully. "And you're right, I can totally see a breakup on their horizon. I mean just look at how unhappy they look?"

I turned my gaze to the direction her head was pointing and instantly regretted it. Bella had moved and was now sitting in Emmett's lap, feeding him bar nuts from the disgusting fucking community cest pool of a tray. It made me feel physically sick to my stomach to watch.

Even more so because I would have given everything I owned to trade places with him.

I sighed and turned back to Rosalie. "How can you guarantee me you won't screw this up?"

She just laughed and tossed her hair.

"Simple. I'm Rosalie Hale, Edward. I don't _screw _anything up." She paused to take another look down the bar and smiled deviously. "At least not anything I intend on _screwing_ later."

* * *

**A/N:** Now all the characters are in we can really have some fun.

Your reviews make the words fly out onto the page faster than anything else ;)


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **So I'm having so much fun writing this story. And I love all the reviews and feedback. I'm glad you guys responded so well to the last chapter. Enjoy :) You guys are great.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own these characters.. sadly.

* * *

**Chapter Four**

**EPOV**

My kitchen had always felt more like a hospital ward to me than anything else, and it had nothing to do with the fact my father was a doctor. The room was just too big, too sterile looking and had that faint smell of peroxide to it. My mother pottered around me, tucking pots and pans away into various cupboards, the maids would just have to rearrange them later, and whistled while she worked, trying to exude the vibe of a Stepford Wife, but failing miserably. I ate my breakfast in silence, still waiting for the dreaded question that always managed to work its way into our conversations. Someone up there decided to put me out of my misery.

"How was therapy yesterday, darling?"

I didn't look up from my bowl of cereal.

"I didn't go."

I felt the air around me freeze as my mother stopped in her tracks, directly in front of me. "You-didn't-go?" Esme repeated slowly, as if the words didn't make sense together.

"Right," I shrugged, and put my empty bowl in the sink. I side stepped my way around her frozen form, and walked over to the long rack on the wall, that held my monogrammed ties. I picked the first one I saw and tugged it loosely around my neck.

"I wasn't aware your therapist had signed your release forms?" My mother's deceivingly polite tone sounded from somewhere close behind me. I quietly groaned as I turned around to face her, before I pointedly shrugged.

"Don't sweat it, Esme. You've been busy."

My mother narrowed her eyes and put her hands on her hips; we both knew how much she hated it when I addressed her that way. Then she sighed as she took a step closer to help me with my tie. "Edward, your father and I love you. We just want what's best for you."

"There's nothing wrong with me," I said exasperatedly, and pushed her hand away. "I don't need the fucking therapy."

"Of course there's nothing wrong with you," Esme replied angrily, as if I had insulted her personally. Then she hesitated, "but after everything that happened last year… well, it wouldn't hurt you to talk to someone, would it?"

I was grateful that she had enough decency not to mention my notorious breakdown. My mother self-absorbedly thought that it had something to do with her and my father's status in the town. Like I somehow couldn't handle having _two_ famous parents, but the truth was... when I had found out that Bella was with Emmett, well, I had gone a little crazy for a while.

But I was completely fine now. A fact no one else around me seemed to realise.

"Where's Carlisle, mom?" I said irately, changing the topic. "Didn't you two get back last night?"

My mother put her hand on her hip and gave me her infamous 'that's none of your business, Edward Anthony Cullen' look. When I didn't immediately back down, she turned her head away from me and spoke to the floor. "Your father decided to stay a little while longer."

_Translation: "Your father met someone and would like a few more days of uninterrupted orgasms."_

"Of course he did," I said sarcastically and rolled my eyes. I turned away from her and walked over to the door; pausing when I reached it. "You know, maybe you two should be the ones in therapy... Just a thought."

I didn't wait around for Esme's response. I hastily grabbed my car keys from the bench and stormed out of the house. I walked down the vast sweeping lawn as fast as my legs would carry me. There was no way in hell that I was going back for my school bag and other non-essentials; I would just have to make do without them today.

It was only when I was outside the wrought iron gates, with the cold street air swirling around in my head, that I realized I'd forgotten my brother.

***

"I'm in love." Jasper announced matter-of-factly, when we were both seated in my car. I put the keys in the ignition and the engine roared to life; the sound welcomingly drowning out the discomfort in the air.

"You're not in love," I replied dryly, already bored with the direction of conversation. I switched the stereo on to one of my favorite stations. Jasper ignored me and continued. "I think Alice could be the one..."

"I think you're delusional."

"I'm serious, Edward. She's the most amazing girl in the whole world." He turned his head to look out the window, and sighed. And I mean actually _sighed_; like in those old black and white romance flicks. He fucking **sighed**.

"Shit, Jasper, how many bowls did you smoke this morning?" I turned my whole body in my seat to check his eyes.

"Oh right," Jasper scoffed, shaking his head as he changed the classical station to something preppy and horrible sounding. "I forgot about my little brother's golden rule again."

I gave him an incredulous look and began backing out of my space. "And what rule would that be?"

"Because she's single and available, I shouldn't want her. I should only go for taken girls that I can't have," he mused with a grin. "Did I get it about right?"

"Your wit is astounding," I murmured distractedly as I fiddled with the stereo.

Jasper rolled his eyes and changed the station back. "But that's what this is about..." He paused to accentuate his next word. "Bella."

I turned the crappy music off altogether and concentrated on the road. "Not everything I say is about Bella."

Jasper laughed. "Really, little brother? Because I haven't heard anything but her name, come out of your mouth in months. Ever since the-"

"Don't," I warned him, my tone threatening.

Like Esme, my brother knew better than to mention the events of last year.

"I wasn't going to," Jasper continued smoothly. "I was just going to say that it wouldn't kill you to talk about something else for a change."

I felt a smirk twitching on my lip. "I didn't realize I had been neglecting topics, Jasper. What is it you would like to talk about?"

Jasper ignored my mocking tone and shrugged. "You could ask me about Alice? You know, actually play the caring little brother role for once. "

My grip on the steering wheel tightened . "You're one to talk," I scoffed, and shoved the gearstick into fourth. "You didn't even show up last night! I waited at that bar for a-fucking-hour."

"You had Bella with you didn't you?"

"She was with Emmett."

"Oh..." Jasper ran a hand through his hair. "Guess I really fucked up then. Sorry."

"Yeah, you did."

"It couldn't have been that bad?" He asked uneasily.

I scoffed as I thought back to the events of the previous night.

_Sitting all alone at the bar. _

_Bella and Emmett talking and laughing. _

_Pity drink in front of me. _

_Making a deal with the devil._

_Twenty thousand dollars…_

_Fuck._

"I wouldn't say that it was the best night of my life," I replied nonchalantly, not paying much attention to the road. When my eyes did refocus, I quickly took my foot off the accelerator and shifted down a gear; but not before accidently running through a red light. I heard a few angry car horns sound behind me.

"See..." Jasper mused hopefully, completely oblivious to our near-death-experience. "That means it couldn't have been the worst night of your life, either?"

I shook my head as more memories came flooding back to me…

_A hand shake._

_A potential break up on the horizon._

_Imagining Bella in my arms. _

_All mine. _

_Together._

_Finally._

"No. It definitely wasn't the worst night of my life."

"That's great, little bro. Glass is always half full, right?" Jasper grinned.

I ignored him and we continued the rest of the drive to school in silence. Jasper turned the stereo back on and I let the crappy pop music wash over me without argument. Anything would do as a distraction at this point.

"Turn left here!" Jasper said suddenly, grabbing the steering wheel and causing the whole car to lurch sideways. I suppressed a growl and after hitting his hand away, looked over at the street he was indicating. I felt my eyes narrow.

"Why here?" I asked suspiciously, throwing on my indicator. My brother just smiled and relaxed back into his seat.

"We're picking up Alice."

* * *

**APOV**

I stood in my tiny room in front of the floor length mirror, trying to decide on a scale of one to ten, just how much of a disaster it would be to go out into public in a uniform like this.

_Forks Academy definitely didn't spare any expenses when it came to dressing their students_, I thought miserably, as I tugged at the stupid neck tie attached to my shirt.

The things you had to do…

I was saved from making anymore decisions by the sound of a car horn honking outside. I grabbed my coat and skipped down the stairs and out the front door with a shout of goodbye to my foster parents. The cold air hit me at once and I hurriedly searched for the car.

Edward's silver Volvo was parked crookedly along the curb and he didn't say a word to me as I climbed into the backseat next to Jasper, who was looking more handsome than I'd ever seen him; even if the plain white school shirt he wore didn't do his body underneath any justice. Jasper slowly looked me up and down before letting out a low whistle.

"You pull off the school colors better than any girl I've ever seen, babe." He smiled, tugging me into his arms.

Edward sneered from the front seat. "I brought our maids uniform for you from home, just in case you started to feel a bit out of place today."

"Edward," Jasper warned, his tone threatening. "Cut the bullshit and be nice. I would like it if you and Alice could start trying to get along."

"I thought that was being nice?" Edward replied innocently.

I rolled my eyes and flipped him the bird in his rear view vision. Edward laughed coldly and Jasper let out a defeated sigh.

I turned to look out the window as we drove in silence the rest of the way.

***

"What, no valet?" I joked as we stepped out of the car into the school parking lot.

Jasper laughed and slowly shook his head before shooting a pointed look at his brother, as if begging him to make an effort with me.

"Don't look at me. I don't speak her language." Edward held up his hands and shot me a look of disgust; obviously to make sure I understood the double meaning to his words. Before I could even retaliate, his attention was diverted to an attractive looking brunette roaring into the parking lot on a motorbike; a pair of huge muscled arms wrapped around her waist.

I watched Edward's eyes instantly light up and in the same second, scowl, as he took in the guy surgically attached to her. Amused, I continued to watch as the girl broke out of her boyfriend's grip and parked the bike. They both jumped down and exchanged a kiss before the guy turned around and jogged off.

The brunette girl suddenly looked up at us, and smiled when she spotted Edward. She waved to him and twisted around to put her helmet down before making her way over. I felt Edward's body visibly tense up beside me and I glanced back and forth between the two of them until it finally clicked. I smiled deviously.

_This had to be Bella._

"Hey," she smiled rather breathlessly as she reached us, and quickly leant up to give Edward a kiss on the cheek. He flinched slightly when her lips touched him but it wouldn't have been noticeable to anyone that wasn't carefully studying him.

I felt my grin grow wider on my face.

This was almost too perfect.

"Hi Bella. I'm Alice." I sang sweetly, stepping forward to hug her.

She stared at me perplexedly for a second, probably trying to work out how I knew her name, but quickly returned my smile and bent down to hug me. I looked over her shoulder to where Edward was standing and saw that he was visibly fuming. He shook his head at me and took a step forward, looking like he was about to forcibly rip us apart.

"Alice, what are you-"

"Don't worry, Edward. Bella and I are going to be great friends."

He stopped in his tracks and glared daggers at me and I smirked back as Bella and I broke apart from our hug. Bella grinned down at me and then turned back to Edward with an amused smile on her face.

"I don't know about you, Edward. But I like her."

The look on his face at those words will be forever imprinted on my brain.

I continued to smile innocently at him. Edward eventually forced a smile through clenched teeth."You have no idea."

Bella laughed and kissed his cheek again before turning back to face us. But before she could say another word, something caught her attention and she turned her head. I twisted around to see what she was looking at and saw that it was a stretch limousine pulling into the parking lot. I couldn't help the laugh that escaped my lips. First the fancy Volvo, then the motorbike, and now this…

_What was with these rich kids and their ostentatious grand entrances?_

When the occupant stepped out however, I felt my jaw drop.

* * *

**EPOV**

_You've got to be fucking kidding me…_

We all turned and stared, open mouthed, at the blonde that had stepped out of the limo and was now sashaying her way across the parking lot. She was wearing the school uniform but I'd never seen anyone look less like they belonged in a school yard. Much less a school yard that was forty fucking degrees out.

Her skirt was hitched up so high that the bottom of it barely covered her ass and her blouse so tight, it looked like she'd stolen it from a freshman. Her hair was tied in plaits with tiny white ribbons on the ends and her matching white socks were knee high. She even had a fucking pencil tucked behind her ear.

She was like a guy's walking wet dream. Only it felt more like a nightmare. I glanced nervously around the group to see what they would make of her. Their expressions were very much the same as mine had been, all staring at her as she approached in open mouthed disbelief. My brother's eyes in particular looked like they were about to pop right out of his head.

I wasn't exactly sure why I was all that surprised to see her here. True we hadn't exactly discussed the finer details of our arrangement. But it was Rosalie Hale after all… I shouldn't have expected anything less than disaster.

"Sup homies? I'm Rosalie," she winked when she reached us. And then added, "the new girl." As if that should do to explain her _I just rolled off a porn set_ ensemble. I narrowed my eyes and silently prayed.

_Just kill me now, God._

Rosalie ignored me and immediately turned her power on Jasper, sensing he was the weakest link. "And what's your name, handsome?"

She wasn't wrong.

"Jasper." My brother replied smoothly and took her hand. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, mam," he grinned while giving her a kiss. She grinned back down at him while Alice just stared open mouthed. Jasper frowned and shook himself out of his trance, before quickly moving back to Alice's side and wrapping his arms around her waist.

Bella being Bella just laughed and stepped forward with an amused but confident smile. "And I'm Bella. It's nice to meet you, Rosalie. Welcome to Fork's Academy."

Rosalie nodded and gave her a tight lipped smile in return, before pointedly looking around at the rest of us. I ignored her. But Alice seemed quite thrown by her which surprised me, given that she and Rosalie were practically the evil incarnation of one another, just in different bodies.

When Alice realized I wasn't going to speak, she stepped forward. "I-I'm Alice," she said, with a determined show of bravery, not offering her hand.

I'd always suspected that Rosalie would be better off as a lion tamer than a barmaid.

Rosalie smiled at her pleasantly before turning to me expectantly... like I somehow had a hand in this fucking train wreck in progress. "And what about you, hot shot?"

"Edward," I gritted out through clenched teeth.

"Sorry I didn't catch that." Rosalie smiled sweetly. "What was your name?"

I forcefully matched her smile. "Edward," I said clearer, before stepping forward to shake her hand and bending down low to whisper in her ear. "Watch yourself, Hale."

"No need, Cullen," she whispered back. "I'll have enough eyes on me already I think." With a smirk she straightened up. No one said another word.

"Oh, shit, I gotta go." Jasper said suddenly. "The senior class have a test next period and I don't have a fucking clue what's going on in there." He planted a quick kiss to Alice's head and waved at the rest of us before he walked off. I stared at his retreating form feeling envious.

"And shoot, that reminds me!" Bella clasped a hand to forehead. "I'm supposed to be giving a welcoming speech to the juniors right now." She shot me an apologetic grin before jogging off too, leaving me alone with the two lionesses.

I just looked back and forth between them, let out a helpless groan of defeat and walked away.

_If I'm really lucky, the two of them might decide to just eat each other alive. _

* * *

**APOV**

As soon as everyone was out of sight I grabbed Rosalie roughly by the arm and pulled her aside. "What the hell are you doing here?" I hissed when we were both safely concealed behind a dumpster. Rosalie smirked and pulled her arm out of my grip.

"Well it's nice to see you too, little one."

I sighed. "Rose, it's not that I'm not thrilled to see you it's just… well I'm not exactly thrilled to see you."

She rolled her eyes and pulled a tube of lip gloss from her purse. "Relax junior con artist. Watch and learn. Maybe you can pick up a few tricks."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm here on a mission." Rose smacked her lips for extra effect and tucked the lip gloss away. Then she laughed. "You actually think I'd come to this place dressed like a preppy school girl for shits and giggles?"

"Well…" I trailed off, staring at her dubiously. It wouldn't have been the strangest thing she'd ever done for kicks. "No - but, I mean... how did you even afford all this?" I asked momentarily dazed, waving my hand up and down her ridiculous costume. Rose grinned.

"I suddenly found myself with a bit of extra cash."

My eyebrows rose in mock disbelief. "I didn't think waitressing paid that well?"

"Neither did I," Rose winked.

'Ugh!" I threw my arms up in the air in frustration. "Rose, you have to get out of here. If you blow my cover-"

"Alice, would you chill out." She looked at me sternly while she fluffed her hair and pulled out a compact. "I'm just going to be here for a few days to get what I need done, and then I'll be gone. No one will suspect a thing." Rose stopped talking as soon as she caught sight of her reflection in the compact mirror, and I knew I'd lost her. I quietly groaned and crossed my arms over my chest.

Rosalie Hale and I were as different as we were the same. Both like Julia Roberts in a way. Except of course, that I was Julia Roberts from Notting Hill while she was more like Julia Roberts from Pretty Woman. I was a great actress. She was just a whore. Whichever way you looked at it, this couldn't end well.

When she finished fixing herself in the compact, I sighed. "And I suppose you're not going to tell me why you're here?"

"Sorry cutie." Rose shook her head. "I've been sworn to secrecy. But I will tell you one thing. That guy you had wrapped around your little finger before was hot as hell."

I nodded. "His name is Jasper," I offered a bit reluctantly. "He was the other guy's brother."

Rose's expression was hard to read. "Cullen?"

"You know him?"

"No," she shrugged a little too quickly. But quickly redeemed herself. "That-" she pointed her head towards a big muscled guy "-is my type of man."

I looked a little closer at the guy she was indicating and recognized him at once. I felt my eyes narrow. "Bella's boyfriend?"

Rose nodded and licked her lips. "The things I would do to him if we were alone in the classroom. I'd let him play teacher _and_ student with me."

I shook my head in disbelief. I didn't doubt for a second that Rose was probably speaking from experience. The girl never did have much of an imagination.

"So how is this going to work exactly? You're just going to walk around posing as a student here?"

"Exactly." She replied smugly, like it was the most genius plan in the history of the world. I groaned and quickly looked around to make sure that no one was listening to us. This con had disaster written all over it...

"Fine but, Rose… you can't let anyone suspect that we know each other. Or we'll both get caught out. It's the reason I've been avoiding the bar."

"Huh. That explains why I haven't seen you there in so long." Rose replied nonchalantly, now digging around in her purse for something else. When she caught my fearful expression she rolled her eyes. "Oh relax, high and mighty. I won't tell anyone anything about you."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"But…" Rose licked her lips contemplatively. "I need you to help me with something first."

I groaned for the hundredth time in our conversation but quickly nodded my head. Rose smiled sweetly.

"I need both Bella and her boyfriend's class timetables."

* * *

**A/N:** The plot thickens... Your reviews are like music to my ears :) Better than that even.. they make me type faster


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **So let me first apologise for the lack of updates. Sometimes life just gets in the way. The good news is that this chapter is super long to make up for it.

I also want to give a huge shout out to _Queen of Loopholes_ and _PennyNickel_ for their Beta work on this chapter. It is definitely what it is thanks to these lovely ladies.

**Disclaimer:** As always, I do not own these characters.

* * *

**Chapter Five**

**BPOV**

I paused at my locker and stared down at the lock. The numbers started to run together and I almost opted to just pass out rather than try and decipher the combination; I closed my eyes. A few seconds later, I heard the familiar _click _and felt a rush of air as the locker door swung open. I warily peeked through my eyelids and was met by the sight of my boyfriend standing directly beside me, his chiselled jaw curled up into the beginning hints of a smile. "Babe," he laughed at my bemused expression. "How did it go?"

I groaned into my now open locker and had to resist the urge to just crawl inside. My speech to the juniors had been terrible. I'd tripped just as I reached the microphone and let out an involuntarily, "for fucks sake". If I was unsure whether or not it made it into the mic, the expression on the audience's faces certainly clarified it for me. There was really no way to redeem myself from there so I just continued on, dignity in tow. And by that I mean floating about two hundred yards behind me.

"It was great," I choked, throwing one last yearning look at my locker before turning back to him with a weak smile. Emmett grinned down even wider at me and I instantly knew what was coming. Before I could stop him, he had scooped me up and was spinning us around really fast, making me emit a very involuntary girly squeal and tighten my grip on his shoulders.

"Emmett!"

He laughed and stopped spinning. As soon as my feet touched the ground I punched him as playfully hard in the chest as I could- causing, undoubtedly, more damage to my own hand than to him. My theory was confirmed when Emmett merely smiled his impish grin in response and bent down to kiss me.

I groaned and squeezed my eyes shut tight, like I always did whenever it got to this. I knew not wanting to kiss your boyfriend was terrible and probably ranked me somewhere among the _world's worst girlfriends_, and quite possibly a few of the _world's worst serial killers_ too, but what else could I do? I couldn't help being hopelessly in love with my best friend…

When we broke apart, Emmett brought a hand up to cup my cheek as he gazed down at me thoughtfully. I felt my cheeks immediately start to redden under his watch. My mother had always called me an open book… were my thoughts really that transparent?

"Is something wrong, babe?"

_Apparently, they were. _

Like a kneejerk response, I shook my head. Edward wouldn't have even had to ask and he still would have known exactly what was wrong. I was forced to wonder, yet again, why I was staying with a guy that didn't know me at all. Emmett sighed and leaned sideways against the locker beside mine.

"Okay. I just worry about you sometimes."

And there was my reason. Emmett was safe, secure. He was my protector. Sure my description of him sounded more like one you'd give to your father or older brother, but every relationship had its problems, right? I rolled my eyes.

"You sound like Charlie."

His lip twitched. "Should I be worried?"

"Extremely." I said, seriously.

Emmett considered that for a moment. "I would, but this means I can ground you… hot."

"Ugh." I pinched his arm. "Way too far."

"But the punishment doesn't have to be incestuous, of course." He reassured me and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. I snorted.

"What kind of freaky ass games did your parents play with you growing up?"

"The usual… hide and seek, duck duck goose." He ticked each one off his fingers and grinned. "Only we played them naked."

I shook my head. "Why am I not surprised?"

Emmett tilted his head to the side. "You know, Bells… if you weren't so adorable when you look at me like I'm a sex fiend, I might be offended." He reached out to pinch my side. I squealed and swatted his hand away, causing him to smile and entwine our fingers. "And to think I was going to invite you to our next family movie night."

"I'm almost positive I'll be washing my hair that night."

"I didn't tell you what night it would be."

"That's the greatest part. I wash my hair every night."

Emmett rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around my waist; pulling me into his huge chest. "As much as I love listening to your rejections, and you know I do," he planted a chaste kiss to my forehead, "I have to go." He grabbed my other hand to twirl me around and grinned down at me once more before jogging off. I watched his retreating form with a mixture of sadness and relief and shook my head at the empty space.

I loved Emmett; I really did. There was just no spark between us. I wouldn't have even expected there to be one if it weren't for Edward, who could just about light fireworks in me with a single touch... less than that even; sometimes just being in the same room as him was enough... I was so lost in this train of thought that I didn't notice the walking stick of a freshman hurtling my way, until it was too late.

Her shoulder collided with mine and I, somehow, suffered the full brunt of her impact, falling embarrassingly backwards and landing painfully on my ass. I stared after the girl in complete shock. She hadn't even paused to apologize, and I was in no position to yell from my awkward spot on the floor. I let out a hopeless whine of a sigh that echoed loudly through the empty hallway, and, after resting my cheek on the cold linoleum floor, silently contemplated not moving again. Ever.

Just when I was starting to feel better that at the very least there hadn't been an audience to my idiocy, two wedged platform shoes stepped forward into my line of sight and paused. I groaned and slowly looked up into the amused eyes of the girl from the parking lot. I couldn't bring myself to speak and neither, it seemed, could she. The girl simply grinned down at me and held out her hand. I just blinked stupidly up at her as I took her all in, feeling suddenly envious of more than just our current positions.

Maybe it was the bright fluorescent lights causing me to hallucinate, but I hadn't noticed before just how shiny her cropped black hair was or how the colour of it seemed to perfectly compliment her blue eyes and creamy white skin. Or how she was thin in the extreme, yet still managed curves in all the right places. Or how her shoes just screamed style, but it was style on a budget, which was somehow even more admirable.

"Alice... Hi. And thanks," I said gratefully, taking her hand and hoisting myself up off the floor, a little wary of the weight ratio between us. She didn't seem to notice.

"No problem, Bella." She sang as she leant back against the row of lockers and looked me up and down. "Jasper mentioned you were a bit of a klutz."

"That was sweet of him." I mumbled, trying to brush the dust off my backside. Alice laughed and stepped forward to help me.

"He really is a sweetheart. I'd feel bad for bragging about it if I didn't know you had muscle man to go home with each night. My god, I bet he's wild in the sack." She raised an eyebrow. "Am I right?"

I almost tripped over my own feet. I wondered how she had gotten all that out without needing to pause for oxygen.

"Uh, I guess it would depend on your definition of wild..." I stammered like the awkward virgin I was. Not particularly wanting to reveal this titbit to her or hear what Jasper was like 'in the sack', I changed the topic. "So… Alice, Edward never told me. Where are you from?"

She stepped back from me and narrowed her eyes. "Everywhere. I moved around a lot when I was younger… Why?"

I blinked. "Um, no reason. Wow. That must have been… exciting?" I said awkwardly, wishing that I had paid more attention during Small Talk 101.

"You could say that," Alice shrugged and diverted her gaze to something behind me. I must have imagined the hint of remorse behind her eyes, because it was gone in the next second as she refocused on me. "But I'm enjoying Forks a lot more I think."

"I'll ask you that again in a week." I smiled, trying to thwart the sudden stiffness in the air. Alice chuckled, amusedly.

"Fair call. Well maybe it's not so much Forks as it is its inhabitants then."

I grinned, knowing exactly which inhabitant she was referring to.

"So I take it you really like him?"

Alice glanced up and down the corridor, nervously, before turning back to me and sucking in her bottom lip. "I think I might."

"That's great." I gushed, trying to alleviate some of her fear. "Jasper could really use a girl like you."

Alice looked at me curiously, her brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

I sighed and leaned against my locker. "You'll understand when you meet his family, but let's just leave it at... Jasper could use a bit of stability in his life." At her bewildered expression, I quickly elaborated; "Don't worry, it's nothing bad. He just doesn't have the greatest parents in the world for role models."

"Oh..." Her expression immediately softened. "I didn't know that. I haven't actually had the chance to meet either of them yet. They never seem to be home when I'm around." Alice smiled at me weakly.

"They've been in the Hamptons all week." I said quickly, and shrugged purposely, to assure her it was nothing out of the ordinary.

Alice just laughed and diverted her gaze to the floor, as if I had just told some incredibly funny joke. I titled my head to the side and smiled.

"Did I miss the punch line?"

Alice looked up at me still grinning and waved her arm, "Oh no, it's nothing."

When I continued to smile pathetically with my eyes, she sighed. "Okay, just the way you said 'been in the Hamptons all week' like it was the most normal thing in the world..." Alice shook her head in disbelief. "And not like something that would cost any ordinary person _like me_ their life savings."

My stupid smile vanished at once. "Shit. Sorry. I didn't mean to sound… I mean, I'm not one of those-"

"It's okay, Bella." Alice cut me off grinning, her expression clearly amused. "I never thought you were."

I smiled awkwardly back at her. I didn't want to risk putting my foot in my mouth again so I kept it shut. Alice must have sensed my inability to speak because she laughed.

"So what class am I holding you up from anyway?"

I glanced down at my watch and inwardly groaned. Alice was right; I was running extremely late for whatever class I had. I quickly fished around in my locker and retrieved my timetable.

"English..." I said after I checked it. "I'd better go." I turned to throw my timetable back into my locker but felt Alice's small hand shoot out to stop me. I grinned down at her quizzically. She quickly laughed, embarrassed. "Sorry, do you mind if I take a look at that? I lost mine first period and have no idea where any of my rooms are."

"Have it," I smiled, closing my locker door. "I know this place like the back of my hand."

Alice grinned and pocketed it. "Thanks, Bella. You're a lifesaver."

"That's a scary thought." I laughed and shook my head. "Seriously though, I should be thanking you… for picking me up off the floor." Alice dismissed it with a wave of her hand but I just grinned. "No really, Alice. Thanks..." I paused as I thought back to our earlier encounter in the parking lot. "And you were right, you know, about what you said earlier. I have a funny feeling that we are going to be great friends," I said sincerely. I really did like this girl.

"I know we will," Alice replied simply, her blue eyes sparkling.

I smiled and turned around, planning to completely floor it to class, but froze in my tracks when I heard Alice calling out to me. "One last thing though, Bella..."

I quickly turned back to her, faking calm and serenity while my mental clock ticked blaringly loud. Alice smiled and raised an eyebrow. "Edward Cullen?"

The ticking in my head stopped… along with time itself.

_Where did that come from?_

I looked at Alice in what I'm sure came off as pure shock and some well placed dread. Then I ran a hand through my hair and did my best impersonation of someone being casual. "What about him?"

Alice didn't miss a beat. "Are you two really just friends?"

I tried not to let my jaw fall open in surprise. Was the girl some sort of psychic?

I watched her grin grow amusedly wider with each second it took me to find my answer. For a brief second, I considered answering her truthfully and suffering whatever consequences the truth brought. Or maybe settling on the elusive 'it's complicated.' That line usually seemed to work in these situations, or, at the very least, it worked in every movie I'd ever watched. In the end though, I knew there was only one answer I could give her. The same answer that I myself had accepted a long time ago.

"Yes," I nodded. "Edward Cullen and I are just friends."

It still amazes me to this day, how I managed to fool myself.

* * *

**EMPOV**

I was jogging through the empty corridor, trying to balance my sports bag in one hand and my books in the other, when something in the corner of my eye caught my attention. I froze in my tracks. It was a girl wandering around aimlessly, looking nervously at the signs over the classroom doors. I felt my feet automatically move themselves in her direction and blinked stupidly when I reached her.

_Keep walking, Emmett. Pretend you didn't just see the hottest girl you've ever seen in your life._

But my body didn't catch up to my brain.

"Hi." I heard my strangled voice leave my mouth.

_What the fuck are you doing? _

"Hi," the beautiful girl replied slowly, looking at me curiously.

_Oh god. _

"A-are you lost?"

The least I could do was help the poor girl out. It's gotta be nerve racking starting at a new school. But the beautiful girl just smiled and shook her head.

"No, not at all. On the contrary, I'm exactly where I want to be."

Her voice was so confident and sexy that I felt my legs turn to mush. I couldn't have turned away if I tried. Luckily, my voice still worked, and I managed to find it.

"Um, I'm Emmett, by the way. Just so you know my, uh, my name…"

_Good one, Emmett. Real smooth. _

Her blue eyes twinkled as she looked me up and down. "It's nice to meet you, Emmett," she said finally. With an amused grin, she turned around and began walking off. I stared blankly after her.

_Okay. What the fuck just happened?_

I somehow forced my feet to move and caught up to her in three quick strides. She turned around curiously, and I wasn't sure how, but I managed to plaster on my most confident smile.

"Seeing as I told you my name, I think it's only fair that I get yours, too?"

The beautiful girl paused and stared up at me for a few nerve racking seconds, then she hesitantly closed the space between us. I immediately felt tingles go up my spine and my breath catch in my lungs... she was even more beautiful up-close. Then her voice broke through the air between us, and I forgot everything, even my own name.

"It's Rosalie."

* * *

**EPOV**

I stared at the pencil on the desk in front of me, willing it to move. I felt like my waves of frustration should have been powerful enough to shift the earth's planetary energy and grant me this little request, and I would instantly feel better once it did. But the pencil didn't move an inch.

I groaned and brought my hands from my desk up to my temples. _You wanted this…_ my subconscious reminded me. I nodded in agreement and let my hands drop. _However illogical and stupid it was_… my brain added. I frowned and shook my head. I had to prevent this line of thinking completely before my dick jumped in and gave his two cents worth. Although I'm fairly certain I knew where he stood.

_Gah_.

Cue the dirty thoughts of Bella and me rolling around naked on my desk. I really was a sorry excuse for a human being.

"Ahem." Rosalie cleared her throat in the open doorway.

_But, I suppose it could be worse._

The class turned to stare at her and I watched Rosalie's eyes light up as she sauntered into the room, taking the attention in stride. I averted my eyes back to my pencil.

I heard her mumble something to the teacher about 'lost her student registration' and a few seconds later, felt her books smack down on the desk beside me. I suppressed a growl and turned my head an inch in her direction. "Seat's taken."

I heard her scoff and pull out a chair. "Surely misery prefers company?"

I ignored her and put my head back down on the desk. As expected, her presence did nothing to soothe my conscious. I'd tossed and turned the night before, unable to sleep comfortably. My mind, as usual, had been completely consumed with dreams of Bella, only this time they had starred Rosalie too, an unpleasant combination. I didn't exactly relish the thought of them being in the same room together but I had pretty much guaranteed that now. I couldn't help but feel depressed by it. Then again, I'd made my own bed…

I turned my head sideways, a huge fake smile plastered on my face.

"It's lovely to see you again, Rosalie. And I see you even dressed up for the occasion. Is that a new shirt... a new nose?"

Rosalie blinked. "Do I have to remind you that I'm doing this as a favour to you?"

I scoffed, struggling to keep my tone polite. "I hardly think 'accepting a twenty thousand dollar bribe' constitutes 'doing me a favour'."

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "You can't have your cake and eat it too, Cullen."

"That doesn't really make sense."

"You don't really make sense," she mocked me, flustered, and pulled something from her purse.

_Happy thoughts… happy thoughts…_

"Just tell me how long you're going to be here for?"

Rosalie scowled and looked at me carefully over her makeup contraption while she contemplated her answer; as if I had asked her a tough fucking mathematical equation or something.

"I've yet to see what they're like together so I couldn't tell you for sure," she said finally. I rolled my eyes.

"Ball park then?"

"Three days. Give or take."

"They've been together a year," I offered dryly. Rosalie smirked and snapped her makeup device shut.

"I'll be here a week then."

I laughed despite myself. "You really think you're that good?"

"I know I am."

I shook my head in disbelief.

"I guess we'll see," I said finally, turning my head away.

When Bella had asked me the other day whether or not I was_ in_, well those words had really revived something in me. I'd been depressed for so long over not having Bella that I hadn't actually considered fighting for her. I'd condemned myself to a losing battle without even trying. And that just wasn't acceptable. I was more than willing to fight for her.

I just wouldn't be fighting fair.

"I'm sorry I'm late!" A flustered, yet easily recognisable voice broke me from my reverie. My head immediately snapped up and my eyes moved excitedly to the doorway to drink her all in.

She looked every bit the epitome of perfection; with strands of auburn hair falling loosely from her ponytail and her cheeks a beautiful tinge of pink, either from the cold or from her sprint. Her lips looked exceptionally swollen and frozen from the weather, and it took all of my strength not to just jump over the desk, grab her face between my hands and warm them with my own. I noticed she was slightly out of the breath, and the movement of her panting quickly drew my attention to her perfect breasts; I inwardly cursed the thick school sweater that blocked them from my view. Most of my favourite fantasies revolved around seeing Bella in a wife beater and a skirt, but with winter just around the corner, I could kiss those thoughts goodbye. Bella was nothing if not practical.

It was probably for the best…

Bella could wear a fucking paper sack to school, and it would still more than likely get me hard. I didn't even want to think about what seeing her in a skirt would do to me.

"Miss Swan. How nice of you to join us." Mr Banner looked down at his watch. "And only forty-five minutes late. Can I see you up front for a minute?"

Bella didn't reply but I watched her brown eyes sweep the room for a full second before settling on me. I locked my gaze with hers and grinned. She smiled her breathtaking smile, rolled her eyes behind the teacher's back and mouthed; "See you in a minute."

_Perfect. Just one little not so perfect thing to get rid of first…_

It wasn't that I was worried Rosalie would loosen her tongue and let something slip; I was pretty sure that for twenty thousand dollars she'd have sex with the Pope and somehow keep it under wraps. It was just that someone as pure and beautiful as Bella didn't belong anywhere near someone like Rosalie Hale. It just went against nature. Of course, there was a small part of me that felt like Bella didn't belong anywhere near me either. But it was a very miniscule part in comparison.

"Hale, get lost." I hissed, dropping any previous tone of civility.

Rosalie's eyes followed my gaze to Bella's perfect ass bent over the teacher's desk, then back to me with disbelieving eyes. "Cullen, Cullen…" she shook her head with an annoying 'tsk' to her tone. "Do you know nothing about women?" She ignored the look I gave her at that statement and continued. "Sure I can get her boyfriend to sleep with me, but then what? You thought she'd just come running into your arms?" Rosalie tossed her long blonde hair behind her shoulder and laughed. "Trust me, you're not that hot."

I snorted and rolled my eyes. If I wanted to, I could find at least a hundred girls at the school that would disagree with her. I mean four girls alone had been eyeing me ever since I walked through the door, but I bit my tongue. She had a point. Even if I managed to break them up, I had no idea what Bella would want to do. I guess I'd always hoped that Bella somehow felt the same way I did and the only thing holding her back was Emmett, but I had no way to be sure.

One glance up at Bella's perfect silhouette making her way towards us was enough to make me groan and lower my voice. "What are you suggesting then, Hale?"

She smirked and whispered; "Just follow my lead."

Before I could respond, Rosalie had wrapped her arms tightly around my neck and was leaning in close to my face, causing me to instinctively grip the edge of the desk to prevent us both from falling over. Bella reached the desk at that exact same moment and looked down at our awkward embrace with a mixture of shock and amusement.

"Well this looks very um... cosy. I hope I'm not interrupting anything?"

"Oh. Bella." Rosalie glanced up as if noticing her for the first time and smiled with mock enthusiasm. "No, not at all. I was just telling our little Edward here that he should wear more pink." If that line alone wasn't reason enough to throttle her, the next one should have been. "I think it would really emphasize his muscular body," she purred, trailing her fingers slowly up and down my chest as she spoke. "Don't you agree?"

"Sure," Bella replied, struggling to keep a straight face as she took the seat on my other side. She raised an amused eyebrow in my direction. "Even though you've never worn pink before in your life, Edward, I'm sure it would look lovely on you. And definitely emphasize your…" I wasn't sure she would be able to, but Bella managed to keep a straight face "…muscular body."

"Good to know. Unfortunately, I don't intend on starting," I grumbled, trying to shake Rosalie off me.

"On the other hand," Rosalie interjected, as she clung on tighter and lowered her blue eyes to mine. "It's never too late to start asking for what you want, Edward," she breathed headily. "Or looking for a girl that can give you exactly what you need…" she trailed off suggestively, running the tip of her long manicured finger down to the waistband of my jeans. I looked up in time to see her shoot another pointed look in Bella's direction.

_For fuck's sake. _

I groaned and shut my eyes. This was almost painful to watch. I knew exactly what Hale was doing but what she didn't realise was that it wouldn't have the slightest effect on Bella. She'd seen me with hundreds of girls in the past and had never been fazed by any of them. I doubted even someone as shamelessly flamboyant as Rosalie could make her care now. Which was precisely why the next words out of Bella's mouth took me by complete surprise.

"No offense, _Rosalie._" She said her name with distaste. "But I think I would know how to satisfy Edward's _needs_ a little better than you would."

To say that hearing those words made my dick cartwheel would have been a massive understatement. I'd never seen Bella lose her cool before. Given the circumstances, I really should not have enjoyed this new possessive side to Bella. But I did… a lot. I cautiously opened my eyes.

"Is that a fact?" Rosalie replied smugly, pressing her tits even further under my nose, to the point of suffocation.

By some divine miracle, Bella was saved from answering by our teacher. Obviously fed up with all our chatter, Mr Banner chose that moment to walk by and drop a pile of books on the desk in front of us, the sound resonating loudly through the classroom. Hale immediately jumped out of my lap and I felt Bella instantaneously relax in her chair on my other side.

No one said another word all lesson but I could feel both girls' piercing gaze on me the whole time. I carefully averted my eyes to the pile of books Mr Banner had dropped on the desk instead. When I read the title on the first one, I almost had to laugh out loud in disbelief.

**_Love is a Battlefield_**

And life was becoming ironically ironic.

God I fucking hate irony.

* * *

**A/N:** I can't believe over 100 people have this story on alert :) That makes **me** do little cartwheels inside.

Sorry if this chapter didn't give away as much as you would have liked. We've still got a long way to go.

I enjoy your reviews as much as I enjoy fantasizing hot steamy shower sex with Rob Pattinson. Perhaps a little more even...


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